$13,000. In Harris County, the average one way commute for a person using an automobile was 25 minutes, while the average commute for a person not using an automobile was 44 minutes, a 76% longer duration than the figure for commuters with cars. As of 1997 many of the lower socio-economic groups, such as the homeless or new-immigrants, rely on bicycles, family members, and neighbors for transportation. Dan Feldstein and Claudia Kolker of the Houston Chronicle'' said that "ironically, some of the poorest Houstonians have wider transportation options than their middle-class counterparts." Parking Requirements An ordinance passed by Houston’s City Council will allow new areas of the city to be exempt from existing parking requirements. The Walkable Places Subcommittee proposed the idea in early 2018 of expanding the “market-based parking” (MBP) that already exists in Houston’s central business district to surrounding areas. This proposal aimed to reduce “excessive parking” produced by parking requirements and to take a step toward a less car-centric city. Many local businesses expressed support for the proposed ordinance, and both the Midtown and East Downtown Management Districts wrote letters in support of the measure. After a long period of engagement and feedback on the part of community members and the Planning Commission, the City Council voted on July 17, 2019, to amend Chapter 26 of the code of ordinances, expanding Houston’s market-based parking area to include East Downtown and part of Midtown. All City Council members, except District G Council Member Greg Travis, supported the ordinance. The new MBP area will afford developers more freedom in how they use their land by allowing them to provide parking based on projected market demand, rather than according to a set parking requirement. Proponents of the ordinance claim that parking minimums create too much parking and lead to inefficient use of city space, particularly in Houston which invests a lot in their public transit. Moreover, they argue that allowing market-based parking will make the city more friendly to pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit by reducing the number of cars on the road. Council Member Greg Travis expressed fear that the measure would produce “unintended consequences". He contended that the market-based parking approach would not be viable in a city that isn’t “high density like New York". Travis said that people want the convenience of being able to park close to their destination and worried that if this convenience is